Positive second quarter for Daimler

Daimler’s truck division was aided by a strong growth in North America and Western Europe.

Despite a dip in unit sales, revenue rose for Daimler AG’s truck division during the second quarters, results announced overnight have revealed.

The three month period saw 125,100 vehicles sold, 1,000 units short of 2014 figures, but revenue for the division grew 19 per cent to €9.4 billion. The company's return on sales figures rose 1.5 per cent.

"The positive development of earnings was mainly driven by increased unit sales in the North American Free Trade Agreement region and Western Europe, positive exchange-rates and interest-rate effects, and the utilisation of further efficiency improvements," the company says.

The company says the sales shortfall was a result of decreased demand in Latin America and Asia where unit sales fell 28 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

Indonesia saw the biggest drop, with sales in the Asian nation slumping 51 per cent to 9,500 vehicles in the quarter.

However, the results were positive in Japan (up 16 per cent), India (up 14 per cent), North America (up 20 per cent) and Western Europe (up 15 per cent).

News from the Mercedes-Benz van division is also positive with unit sales rising seven per cent to a second-quarter high of 81,600 vehicles, and revenue jumping 13 per cent to €2.8 billion.

While Latin America was again the disappointment with a six per cent sales drop, the division increased numbers in Canada (46 per cent), Italy (31 per cent), Spain (19 per cent), the United States (12 per cent), France (nine per cent), and Western Europe (nine per cent).

As a whole, Daimler AG’s second quarter was a positive result for company, with global vehicle sales rising 14 per cent to 714,800.

The rise culminated in a 19 per cent revenue (€6 billion) increase on 2014 results and an eight per cent (€0.2 billion) net profit increase over the three months.